Paralyzed
by Comettail of the NightWings
Summary: "Thankfully, he seemed mostly unharmed from the fall. Other than being sore and a little bruised, nothing else hurt aside from his tail- Wait. Now that he thought of it, his tail didn't feel any pain. In fact, it didn't feel anything at all. And then, the realization hit him like a brick... his tail was paralyzed."
1. Prologue

Paralyzed by Comettail of the NightWings

PART ONE

PROLOGUE

 **Author's Note: I'll be accepting SkyWing OCs for this story. You can leave them in the comments or send them to me through Private Messaging. I'm going to try to include everyone's OCs, so leave a special note if you want yours to be a main character, and I'll see what I can do.**

The edge of the mountain was covered with stones, which made it the perfect place for Osprey's rock hunt. Basalt, granite, and obsidian; all of these were rocks he already had in his collection, and none of them were very valuable. But they were still cool to look at, so he slipped it into the pouch around his neck, where he kept his most precious treasures.

A sharp pain hit him in the back of the head. He turned and picked up the offending pebble. Quartz. Facts ran through Osprey's head. Oxide mineral, seven on the Mohs hardness scale, melting point 1670 degrees Celsius. He looked up. Two brutes stood in front of him, their arms overflowing with rocks. Both were about two or three years older than him.

"Hey, you! What do you think you're doing?" Sneered the taller of the two. He walked with such arrogance that it was clear he was the leader. "This is _our_ place."

"Actually," Osprey said, sounding a lot braver than he felt, "This land belongs to Queen Peak."

"You think you're so _brave_ , do you? You think you're so _tough_ and _clever,_ " The dragon snickered. "Well, I've got news for you. You _aren't_." He gave Osprey a hard shove.

"You're wrong. I don't think I'm brave. I don't think I'm tough. But you got one thing right," Osprey's voice grew more confident as he spoke. "I do think I'm clever. And I know that you're only picking on me because of your own low self-esteem."

"So now you're going to give us a speech?" He mocked. "Tell Gust and me that we should stop and 'listen to our hearts' because it's the 'right thing to do?'"

"C'mon, Summit," The other dragon- Gust, presumably- muttered, "It's not worth our time."

Summit shook his head. "Naw, we ain't leaving. This little dragon here, he's got an attitude. He wants to start something. You wanna start something, Little Dragon?"

Osprey shook his head. "I, um, I've got somewhere- I have to go."

"Hold it, Little Dragon! You're not going anywhere," Summit growled, grabbing Osprey's talon and twisted it behind his back. "It's time you learned to respect your superiors."

"You're... not..." Osprey struggled, "My... superiors!"

"That's what you think now," Summit said fiercely. "Let's see what you think after I mush you into a pulp."

All of a sudden, Gust let out a piercing scream. It took Summit by surprise, giving Osprey the opportunity to slip out of his grasp. He lifted his wings to fly and saw at once what Gust had been screaming about. It was a scavenger, clutching a silver dagger.

It happened too quickly for Osprey to think about it. The scavenger darted up his tail and slashed the knife into his tail. He screamed in pain.

"Let's scram!" He heard Summit urge.

"NO! Stop, don't leave me!" But it was too late; the dragons had already begun to fly away. Osprey tried, despite the screaming pain in his tail, to fly into the air. He lost his balance quickly and crashed into the ground. The force of the fall was so strong, it knocked him out.

When he came to, there realized that the scavenger had gone. His pouch had been ripped the leather band that held it. Worse, nearly all of his treasure had been stolen. Thankfully, he seemed mostly unharmed from the fall. Other than being sore and a little bruised, nothing else hurt aside from his tail-

Wait. Now that he thought of it, his tail didn't feel any pain. In fact, it didn't feel anything at all. And then, the realization hit him like a brick (or like a brute dragon named Summit.)

His tail was paralyzed.


	2. Chapter 1

Paralyzed by Comettail of the NightWings

PART ONE

CHAPTER ONE

Osprey had figured he'd at least get a little sympathy for his injury. However, other dragons didn't seem to picture the incident the way he did. Rather than telling stories of his bravery in a terrifying fight against an armed monster, they whispered about how weak he must have been to have lost to a simpering scavenger.

The only dragons who seemed to benefit from it were Summit and Gust. It gave them a chance to recount the tale of how they'd fought off dozens of scavengers. According to their story, they'd killed too many to count, but were unable to stop the scavengers from wounding Osprey. Their story became more implausible every time it was told, but no one seemed to notice.

You'd think that after seven years, dragons would find something else to talk about. But it seemed that everywhere Osprey went, people were whispering about him. Finally, he got tired of it. "Mom, I'm tired of Summit and Gust spreading rumors. They didn't try to help me," He insisted, "They were the reason I got hurt in the first place."

"Now, Osprey, I know they're not very nice, but don't you think you're exaggerating a bit?" His mother sighed. "I'm not saying you have to bow down to them or anything, but you should at least say thank you."

"Mom, I already told you, they didn't save me!" Osprey raised his voice angrily. "I would have been far away when it happened, if it weren't for them, and what's more, I would still have my treasure! I'd lick a snail before I'd ever thank _them_."

"Excuse me, am I interrupting anything?" Said an icy voice. Osprey turned and saw a tall red SkyWing standing in the doorway. He recognized her, but he didn't know from where, or what her name was.

"Crimson," His mother bowed her head. "Is there any way we can be of service?"

"Osprey's prescence is required by the Queen," Crimson's voice was quiet, but she had a presence that filled the room.

Osprey followed, head bowed, behind her.

"That's him," The dragons whispered as he passed. "That's the dragon who was paralyzed." Osprey felt their stares burning into him. It was they could see through his scales... like they could see right into his heart, and sense the fear in it.

"Right this way," Crimson said, holding the door of the palace open. Queen Scarlet was pacing a few feet away, as if she'd been expecting him.

"Ah, Osprey, I've been expecting you," Queen Scarlet said.

"I don't understand. Expecting me?" Osprey was confused. "Why did you want me here? Me, of all dragons? I'm just a..." He trailed off. He knew the word he was going to say; he'd been hearing it for years. But he couldn't quite bring himself to say it.

"Cripple?" Queen Scarlet finished, accurately. It was eerie, how she seemed to read his mind. "Osprey, you weren't much older than a dragonet when the accident occured, correct?

"I was five," Answered Osprey, "Your Majesty."

"Scarlet will do," Said Scarlet airily. "You, as a young dragonet, were not to blame for the events that occured. Others might see you as a cripple, but with me, you can be _more_ than that. I can make you a _hero_."

"Oh, I'm no hero," Osprey said, frowning. "Surely you've heard the rumors..."

Scarlet shook her head. "I don't care about rumors. You'll stay here, with me. I can have you trained as a guard. What do you say?"

Osprey wanted to decline, but Scarlet's expression made him afraid to say no. "That's very generous of you. I'd love that."

"Of course you would!" Scarlet gave a light laugh that didn't match the greedy look in her eyes. "Oh, but of course. Dear me, I've forgotten to mention one little thing... payment. I've heard you're quite the collector..."

"I'm sorry," Osprey glanced down at his pouch, which he'd saved up for to replace the old one. "When I was attacked, almost all of my treasure was stolen. After I lost my flight, I stopped going out for jewels."

"I'm sure you have something!" Scarlet swiped a claw through the cord of his pouch. She held it upside down over her talon. Three rubies, four emeralds, a sapphire, and a piece of quartz dropped into it. Distracted by the shining gems, she waved him off.

"Go on, Crimson will show you to your room." She said. "I hope that you'll make yourself... at _home._ "


	3. Chapter 2

Paralyzed by Comettail of the NightWings

PART ONE

CHAPTER TWO

Osprey had never imagined that he would even be allowed into the SkyWing palace, let alone live in it. Yet, it was only his second day here and he already loved it more than anything. His room was large and magnificent. It had everything he'd ever dreamed of, and some things he hadn't.

His new shelf held more books than a library. His new bed was twice the size of his old one. On his dresser sat what looked like a leather-bound book, but opened up to reveal that it was a collector case for rocks and minerals.

A loud, sharp rap echoed through the room. Osprey opened the door and saw Crimson standing with two shorter, but equally muscular guards with a spear. "That's Falcon, and that's Quartz," Crimson said, clearing her throat. "They're your escorts, and they'll take you wherever you need to go."

"I don't know if Scarlet told you," Quartz said as they walked down the hall, "But you're to be a gem collector, and mine gems for her."

"Why in the world she thought she'd need someone like you, I don't know," Falcon interjected, "But if she wants you to do it, there's no saying no."

"But I can't fly," Osprey said in a small voice. "I'd be of no use to her."

"That much we can easily see," Falcon snorted. "But according to her, you won't need to fly, only mine. She says the other collectors could use some help." He opened the door.

Instantly, the shock of the beauty of his room wore off. The mine was the most amazing place he'd ever seen, no competition. And all of it was his to explore.

The other collectors ran up to him. The taller of the two shook his talon, and he felt something weird. She had an extra claw. "I'm Ibex," She introduced herself. "I do most of the mining around here. That's Ember, and she carves the gems into shapes for jewelry, and makes sculptures and statues and such. What's your thing?"

"My thing?" Osprey asked, startled.

"Yeah!" Ember said enthusiastically. "She means, like, what do you do?"

"Oh, um... I guess I sort of do everything," He said. "But I haven't mined in a while. I never went out searching for gems after this scavenger-"

"-Paralyzed your tail, we know," They said together.

"You- You do?" Osprey stammered.

"Everyone knows about that," Ibex rolled her eyes. "But don't worry. Scarlet doesn't care whether or not you can fly, only that you get her what she wants."

"And she wants gems, so get to work," Falcon snapped.

"It's his first day!" Quartz whispered when she thought Osprey was out of earshot. "Don't go too hard on him."

"We don't want out gem collectors slacking off!" Falcon barked at her.

"Ignore them," Ibex lowered her voice. "They think they can tell us what to do. Ridiculous, I think. Everyone knows Scarlet only hires them as a precaution, to make sure we don't run off with any gems or anything." She disappeared behind a stalagmite, then popped out and beckoned them.

"This is the room where we do most of our mining," Ibex said, motioning to the rock wall. Jewels stuck out at odd angles.

Ember shoved a dagger into his talons. "Use this to get the gems out. Scarlet expects that wheelbarrow full by the end of the day," She said, pointing to the "wheelbarrow," which was nothing more than a red bucket.

Osprey stared at the wall closely and then tapped it gently with his dagger. A ruby fell into his open talon.

"Wow!" Ember's eyebrows shot up. "I'm impressed."

"Here," He threw the ruby to Ember. "Do... whatever it is you do with that."

"You're not bad, you know," Ibex gave him a sideways smile. "I can see why Scarlet chose you to become a gem collector."

"How did you get into collecting, anyway?" Ember asked.

"It's kind of a long story," Osprey shook his head, turning away.

"We have time," Ibex said persuasively.

Osprey breathed in. He closed his eyes and began.


End file.
